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Changeling Assassins
The pale changeling stares up at you, silent and enigmatic. Changeling assassins were discovered in Willowdale directly preceeding the great battle. These shapeshifters were all branded over the heart with the mark of The Blackened Sun, which later proved to be an arcane mark that, at the very least, allows their superiors to scry on them and possibly evoke some sort of compulsion effect. The assassins all used deadly poisons, both to assault their would-be victims and to end their own lives should their capture be imminent. They were apparently hired by the Praetor to assassinate the wizards and spellcasters of Willowdale, including the Pathfinders. During the confusion sparked by a magical reveal of present shapechangers, a local changeling named Joshua Curry was apprehended on suspicion of being a spy. He was later proven to be unrelated to the assassins. The two assassins who were captured during the reveal, a young girl who had posed as Ned and a man who had imitated a wall guard, were held in the town jail until Nightal the 9th, when a trial was held. During the trial, it was decided against executing the prisoners. The prisoners were branded with a spell similar to a Mark of Justice, and both were released into the care of Pathfinders. Commune indicates that the now freed prisoners are unlikely to turn on the Pathfinders or the town at large. Alejandra, Dr. Haiduc, Jura, Enrique, Ruthea, Ned, and Rahzer'ok spoke in their defense. "Fake Ned" Shortly before the "Cake Competition," Ned was replaced with a changeling spy, who murdered the elderly man and hid the body at Ned's own secret fishing hole. When the shapechangers were uncovered, the fake Ned, now revealed to be a young changeling girl, lunged forward at Dr. Haiduc and Valconey, almost killing the doctor with a deadly poison. She was captured alive, and was long held at Colquhoun's station. During her imprisonment, Alejandra to draw information from her on the nature of her cult and its operations, in the possible hope that she could convince the young girl to turn on her fellows and escape the death penalty. She found the girl was heavily indoctrinated, and so decided that she may yet be redeemed. Ruthea also visited the girl in prison and bonded with her very quickly. On finding that the girl had no name, Ru called her "Lin," bought her a puppy, and adopted her as a younger sister. She took personal responsibility for the girl after the trial. Luis One of the wall guards was revealed to have been replaced by a young changeling man. The assassin was captured and placed in captivity, along with the girl who had posed as Ned. Jura was the primary figure in his interrogation, and was assisted and encouraged by Rahzer'ok. She hoped to extract him from the cult and, in doing so, avoid his execution. However, she suspected that her intervention was too little and too late, and was therefore was apprehensive when Alejandra took responsibility for the young man after the trial. Alejandra rather matter-of-factly told him that he would be referred to as "Luis". He is confused by the paladin's behaviour towards a known enemy, and still believes that the town will be destroyed by greater opposition. He has since been forthright about his involvement with the Blackened Sun, and has informed the party about his old order. He also informed Alejandra that he enjoys forests, and she is trying to use that knowledge to help guide him towards an occupation that he might enjoy in Willowdale. She gave Luis a set of paints at Yule, hoping he could use them to express himself, and has suggested that she and Jura might escort him to the Great Cedar Forest for a short outing. Lieutenant Cleaves Colonel Boyd's second officer Lieutenant Cleaves was replaced with a changeling shortly after the Colonel's first scouting mission to the hobgoblin legion camp. During the reveal, the fake Cleaves tried to escape in the confusion, and was subsequently killed. Category:NPC Category:Villain Category:Follower Category:Willowdale